Matt B
SuperDork
8/23/13 2:43 p.m.
In reply to Jerry:
If you haven't gone through the ball joints and tie-rod ends then those are likely culprits of the "uneasiness". My AW11 never felt quite right until I did those, plus the poly bushings.
A note on the poly bushings - while the OEM rubber might be better for rallycross, to my knowledge they are only sold with the control arms. So they tend to be out of budget or at least simply not worth it to most. When I replaced mine, some of the original bushings looked intact, but once I got it apart it was obvious they were toast. I vote poly.
EvanB
PowerDork
8/23/13 2:46 p.m.
Jerry wrote:
(And I have to say, I know most of the local guys here by their name, but do not recognize yours.......)
The hint is in his avatar.
In reply to Jerry:
Now the world will tremble again - at the sound of our rotors. The order is: engage the Mazda.
(kind of the opposite of "silent drive", but the term used in the book is nicer - the "caterpillar")
I do agree that for applications where replacing a bushing means replacing the whole arm, the poly bushings are a nice repair. That's why my old car had them in every bushing, and the links that are still OEM in my current one are courtesy Energy Suspension. But while they are cheap compared to OEM parts (if even available) they do become wear items. So my opinion on them is if they ain't broke, wrenches only make them worse.
And don't even get me started on rod ends. If I replaced those every time they got loose enough to rattle, I'd be replacing them literally every couple of days. Of street driving.
Jerry
HalfDork
8/23/13 8:56 p.m.
In reply to Matt B:
When I bought the car Dec 2011 I took it to my local SCCA-owner shop and had him give it a once-over. What needed fixin' now, what could wait a bit, and what I could ignore. AC became a quick ignore, but I believe ball joints were the first thing we did. (Possibly only lower and not sure about tie-rod ends. Would have to dig out receipts aplenty.)
